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leiyag's review
4.0
Really slow paced at first BUT THE END IS WORTH IT GOD DAMN ! Can’t wait to read the second book! 4⭐️
maggienack's review
3.0
Good world building. I enjoyed the cultural diversity of different kingdoms. Chloe seems fairly impulsive for a woman who lived quietly for 10 years. The characters and plot are pretty straightforward.
wolfski26's review
adventurous
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
bekkah_co's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Similar to some of the other reviews on here, this book starts of increddibly slow, but really does find it's stride towards the end. I'm relatively new to this type of fantasy novel and found myself really enjoying the novel. There is an interesting magic system with very complementary world-building. If you're someone who enjoys magic and interesting political discussions imbedded into the narrative, consider adding this to your TBR!
Her characters are clever and feel grounded as they try to navigate themselves, their previous relationships, and the diplomatic pressure placed onto them. MJ Scott has given us characters with quick wit and sharp tongues and distinct personalities that compliment (and clash) together well. I believe the characterization of the two main characters helps this loosely enemies-to-maybe-friends- to-maybe-lovers thrive. Plus, who doesn't love some scheming by others to force the hand of any relationship?
I think the world-nuilding is a bit intense and I am glad that I did find out before reading this book that it is a spin-off from another one of MJ Scott's series: The Shattered Court. Without reading The Shattered Court, I diid not feel too lost, and I beleive Scott did a more than adequate job introducing her world and characters to those of us now joining her world.
I will say the ending of this book is a major cliffhanger and feels almost like MJ Scott split one book in half. I think it works as of now, and I'm hoping it will pay off in the next installment in the series.
Controversially, I think I did love when the two main characters jumped into bed together a bit towards the end. I think it was a natural progression to feelings both characters had bubbling throughout the whole story. I am hoping we get to see more of their dynamic in the following novels.
Her characters are clever and feel grounded as they try to navigate themselves, their previous relationships, and the diplomatic pressure placed onto them. MJ Scott has given us characters with quick wit and sharp tongues and distinct personalities that compliment (and clash) together well. I believe the characterization of the two main characters helps this loosely enemies-to-maybe-friends- to-maybe-lovers thrive. Plus, who doesn't love some scheming by others to force the hand of any relationship?
I think the world-nuilding is a bit intense and I am glad that I did find out before reading this book that it is a spin-off from another one of MJ Scott's series: The Shattered Court. Without reading The Shattered Court, I diid not feel too lost, and I beleive Scott did a more than adequate job introducing her world and characters to those of us now joining her world.
Controversially, I think I did love when the two main characters jumped into bed together a bit towards the end. I think it was a natural progression to feelings both characters had bubbling throughout the whole story. I am hoping we get to see more of their dynamic in the following novels.
meganalysed's review against another edition
4.0
I found this hard to get into to the point where I considered DNFing until like the 60% mark but once the plot kicked in I really enjoyed it. Really interesting take on magic and I loved the world-building. Looking forward to reading book 2 in the near future.
This does end on quite an intense cliffhanger which could easily just be the middle of the story which is somewhat irritating but I’m trusting the process!
ufcasey's review
3.0
2.5 stars
This was a solid 3/3.5 stars for a slow burn fantasy romance, but then suddenly out of absolutely nowhere the main couple jump into bed together at the 72% mark. There was no build up to this - they still have a lot of shared history to work through and were barely on speaking terms up until that point. Then the book got even more illogical. The book's ending especially irritated me, because a cliffhanger I can deal with but this was more of just the book just stopping without having any major or minor plot or character developments occurring. Nothing gets resolved and nothing changes. I don't care enough about the politics part of the plot to continue on with this series.
Oh and did I mention that apparently this is a spinoff of another series by this author? I was able to read this book without having read that series first (it starts with [b:The Shattered Court|23281690|The Shattered Court (The Four Arts, #1)|M.J. Scott|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1414505739l/23281690._SY75_.jpg|42819670]) but why do authors do this without at least putting something in the blurb/intro so people can be aware of it going into reading it?
This was a solid 3/3.5 stars for a slow burn fantasy romance, but then suddenly out of absolutely nowhere the main couple jump into bed together at the 72% mark. There was no build up to this - they still have a lot of shared history to work through and were barely on speaking terms up until that point. Then the book got even more illogical.
Spoiler
The couple are somewhat forced into marrying one another and then on the day of the wedding the groom gets poisoned and then the book ends shortly after that.Oh and did I mention that apparently this is a spinoff of another series by this author? I was able to read this book without having read that series first (it starts with [b:The Shattered Court|23281690|The Shattered Court (The Four Arts, #1)|M.J. Scott|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1414505739l/23281690._SY75_.jpg|42819670]) but why do authors do this without at least putting something in the blurb/intro so people can be aware of it going into reading it?
justnerdy15's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
hannahecarey's review
4.5
Rating: 4.5
⭐️ This had some really lush, complex world building. It was clear MJ Scott took a lot of time and care in building the world around her characters.
⭐️ The pacing of this felt slower from an action/adventure stand-point at times, but it was deep with political intrigue. That political intrigue built in a really nice way that ended the book with me absolutely putting the next installment in this series on my TBR.
⭐️ I really enjoyed Chloe as a heroine. I loved her being a bit older and having been through some “life” things, it’s not something that’s seen a lot of romantic fantasy and I was here for it.
⭐️ I love, love, loved Lucien. He absolutely made the book for me and I appreciated him being a little bit of an older hero as well. His ending tore my heart out a bit, but it also has me super ready for the next book.
⭐️ Overall this was a really stellar start to the series, I’m super intrigued to see where Chloe and Lucien’s adventures take them night as they unravel the mysteries of their empire and their future.
⭐️ This had some really lush, complex world building. It was clear MJ Scott took a lot of time and care in building the world around her characters.
⭐️ The pacing of this felt slower from an action/adventure stand-point at times, but it was deep with political intrigue. That political intrigue built in a really nice way that ended the book with me absolutely putting the next installment in this series on my TBR.
⭐️ I really enjoyed Chloe as a heroine. I loved her being a bit older and having been through some “life” things, it’s not something that’s seen a lot of romantic fantasy and I was here for it.
⭐️ I love, love, loved Lucien. He absolutely made the book for me and I appreciated him being a little bit of an older hero as well. His ending tore my heart out a bit, but it also has me super ready for the next book.
⭐️ Overall this was a really stellar start to the series, I’m super intrigued to see where Chloe and Lucien’s adventures take them night as they unravel the mysteries of their empire and their future.
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